#PikesPeak

From a pure performance standpoint, the Ducati in the runner-up position would wipe the floor with the Suzuki here. But every year it’s worth reminding readers that these awards are about more than just outright performance. We also factor in the intangible factors, like what a certain model means for the brand or for the category, and the GT+ is a sign that the traditional, non-adventure-based, sport-tourers are still alive and kicking. There’s also just the shock and awe factor. As in, we expected Suzuki’s GSX-S1000GT+ to be a nice motorcycle – but we didn’t expect it to be this nice.

As I observed to my Ducati host just before we started up the mountain toward Idyllwild (elevation 5,800 feet) from Palm Desert, California (220 ft) – this is either going to be one of the greatest rides ever or one of the worst. Pity the poor new model launch planner: If it rains hard more than a few days a year around Palm Springs I’d be surprised. But logistics have to be laid out weeks ahead of time, and as the day for our ride drew nearer, the weather forecast for last Tuesday had evolved from 20% to 40% to 100% rain, to “atmospheric river.”

Motorcycles aren’t allowed to race the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb any more, and it’s been three years since the Multistrada last won it, but that hasn’t stopped Ducati from producing another new Pikes Peak model, this time based on the Multistrada V4.

Ducati is preparing to add a Pikes Peak version of the Multistrada V4 and another Scrambler variant for the 2021 model year.

The official line whenever I’ve spoken to Zero reps is that the company is in the business of making street bikes, not racers. But the hot rodding spirit is alive and burning when you look into the eyes of some of the people who work there, and so it only comes naturally that a core group of enthusiasts would take an SR/F and push its limits.

Carlin Dunne has died after crashing just before the finish line of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The racer, actor and stuntman was attempting to set a new record in the Hill Climb on a prototype Ducati Streetfighter V4. Through the first three sections of the course, Dunne was well on his way towards setting the record, but a big bump in the road near the finish line caused the front wheel of the Streetfighter V4 prototype to wash out from under him, ending in the disastrous result.

Ducati confirmed a naked version of the Panigale V4 is on the way for 2020, announcing a prototype of the Streetfighter V4 will be entered in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb later this month. Carlin Dunne, who previously won the PPIHC motorcycle class on a Multistrada, will be riding the Ducati Streetfighter V4 prototype in the June 30 race.

On the last Sunday in June, the famed Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will commence its 97th running. Taking to the mountain for the first time will be an official entry from Zero Motorcycles (not to be confused with my attempt in 2013 with a dealer-run effort with support from the factory) with its much acclaimed SR/F – a bike which, judging by the 424 comments (and counting)  received on Evans’ Exclusive First Ride piece – is of interest to many people. Piloting the SR/F this year is Cory West, a very accomplished racer in his own right, and though he will be a Pikes Peak rookie, he’ll still be someone to look out for.

It goes without saying that the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is one of the most dangerous motor races in the world. I should know – I flew off the mountain and lived to tell about it when I raced Pikes Peak in 2013. Coincidentally, Carlin Dunne was there that year, too. In fact, he was the fastest two wheeled machine up Pikes Peak on the motorcycle we now know as the Lightning LS-218. The year prior Dunne won the race on a Ducati Multistrada, setting a course record that stood for five years.

In honor of Independence Day here in the U.S. of A., we thought we’d bring you this incredibly exciting on-board footage of Chris Fillmore flying up America’s mountain – Pikes Peak. The 2018 edition of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb marks the 96th running of the event, and this year Fillmore chose to tackle the mountain aboard the all-new KTM 790 Duke, which is slated to come to these shores later this year. And what better marketing for the 790 Duke than by setting the middleweight course record at a 10:04.038 – smashing the previous record by more than 30 seconds! Fillmore’s time was also good enough for third place overall.

Over in the car world, the Formula E series has gained massive interest from manufacturers. The all-electric racing series is the pinnacle of electric sport on four wheels, and while the early days of the sport were laughable – the cars were slow and there was a mandatory car switch at mid race for range purposes (the next generation Formula E cars are reported to be able to last a whole 50-minute race) – there’s no avoiding the fact that almost every major car maker is embracing electric propulsion as part of their model range, whether its standalone electric cars, or as part of a hybrid system. And just as it’s been true about internal combustion engines, there’s no better way to improve the electric breed than by going racing.

I can feel the hair raise on the back of my neck as a smile stretches across my face. The beautiful cacophonous uproar of 20 Ducati Multistradas sitting, waiting to dance their way up the ancient volcano we are standing on. Here we are on Gran Canaria for the introduction of the 2018 Ducati Multistrada and, to be honest, I don’t think the smile has left my face since.

For the past six years, the Ohio State Buckeye Current team of students have taken on the challenge of building an electric motorcycle and competing with it at national and even international events. For 2016, the big news from Buckeye Current is that the team has been accepted to compete at the 100th anniversary of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Hot rodding’s history is filled with speed seekers that have gasoline running through their veins. But now there’s a new dawn in the age to go faster and Harlan Flagg, Brandon Nozaki-Miller and Jeff Clark are pioneering the way. The technology they’re working with might be different than that used by speed seekers before them, but the proving grounds remain the same. Competition improves the breed, and that’s the path Clark, Nozaki-Miller and Flagg have embarked on, pioneering the next chapter in hot-rodding – the electric motorcycle. Their challenge: the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Since he started racing in the late 1990s, San Diego, California racer Jeremy Toye has lived a storied career. His extensive domestic resume includes several top-five finishes in AMA Pro Racing competition. In 2006, Toye set the fastest lap for a rookie at the Isle of Man. On his sixth trip to compete at the Macau Grand Prix, Toye’s third place finish in 2010 earned him the distinction of being the first American to podium the event in 10 years. The following rain-hampered year, he fell just short of the podium. Although he’s raced several motorcycle brands, the last couple of years have seen him focus on Kawasaki’s ZX–10R.